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A familiar name to area basketball fans will take over the St. Charles North girls program next year.

Sean Masoncup, a 1997 graduate of Geneva High School who played basketball and tennis for the Vikings, will replace Colleen Backer as the North Stars varsity coach.

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Masoncup will take over a St. Charles North program that played several sophomores and a freshman this year who will return next year with a promising future. The North Stars lost 62-41 to Wheaton Warrenville South in the regional semifinals last year to cap a 10-19 season.

"I am extremely excited to get started and work with a great group of young ladies," Masoncup said. "This has been a professional goal of mine to run my own program. I have not really applied for head jobs because I was not willing to move my family to achieve my goals so when this opportunity happened I was thrilled to be able to achieve my goal and be able to stay in this great community and teach at a wonderful school."

Masoncup teaches at Haines Middle School in St. Charles. He also is the St. Charles North boys varsity tennis coach and has been coaching the North Stars sophomore boys basketball team.

Masoncup, who earned a tennis scholarship to Western Illinois University, has previously coached girls when he was the tennis coach one year at Oswego while student teaching. He has 10 years of experience coaching boys basketball at both St. Charles East and St. Charles North.

Backer, who announced earlier this spring she was stepping down to spend more time with her family, always made an emphasis for her team's to excel on the defensive end.

That will still be a goal for the North Stars according to Masoncup.

"We will play an up-tempo style of basketball on both ends of the court," Masoncup said. "We will run and play great defense. Our program goal is to be the hardest working team in the gym every night."

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